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Kentucky county clerk must issue marriage licenses: appeals court

It could not be defensibly argued that Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' office may decline to act in conformity with the U.S. Constitution, the appeals court said.
Photo by Timothy D. Easley/AP
Protesters wave a rainbow flag on the front lawn of the Rowan County Judicial Center, June 30, 2015, in Morehead, Kentucky. 

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that a Kentucky county clerk must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, turning down her request to stay a judge's ruling that she said violated her religious beliefs.

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In light of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in June legalizing gay marriage nationwide, it could not be defensibly argued that Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' office may decline to act in conformity with the U.S. Constitution, the appeals court said.